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New Beatles documentary includes intimate footage that's been locked in a vault for 50 years

Beatles

"The Beatles: Get Back" contains never-before-seen footage of the band.

There is certainly no shortage of material about The Beatles out there. We've got feature films, documentaries, biopics, books, magazine articles and more going back decades. Surely we must have seen everything there is to see, right?

Wrong, apparently. A new documentary coming to Disney+ boasts intimate, never-before-seen footage of the iconic band that's been locked away in a vault for half a century. Hours and hours of it.

The trailer for "Get Back" begins with intrigue. "In January 1969, a film crew was given unprecedented access to document The Beatles at work," it says. "This resulted in over 57 hours of the most intimate footage ever shot of the band."

"The footage has been locked in a vault for over half a century. Unseen … until now."


The documentary series "The Beatles: Get Back" will be a three-part event airing November 25–27, with each episode running two hours. The series was directed by Peter Jackson of "Lord of the Rings" fame, and covers a three-week period in which the band had to write and record 14 songs leading up to their first live performance in three years. Jackson is the only person to have been given access to the footage, which has been painstakingly restored, in more than 50 years.

There is so much lore and legend wrapped up in The Beatles' history, it's quite lovely to see candid footage of them working together behind the scenes and even more of a treat to see some of the world's most beloved songs come together.

The Beatles: Get Back | Official Trailer | Disney+youtu.be

The year 1969 would be a big one for The Beatles. It's the year John Lennon and Yoko Ono got married, the album "Abbey Road" was released and the band ultimately broke up. So the timing of this footage early in the year gives us a glimpse into the creative genius and turmoil that came to define that year for the group.

(And in a final full-circle bit of irony, according to The Chicago Tribune, The Beatles had wanted to make and star in their own "Lord of the Rings" movie musical back in the 1960s. They wanted Stanley Kubrick to direct it, but he turned them down. Even if he had agreed, though, J.R.R. Tolkien apparently wasn't a fan of The Beatles and didn't want to give them the rights to it, so the idea was dead on arrival anyway. How funny that Peter Jackson, who created the epic "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, ended up getting exclusive access to footage of The Beatles for this documentary.)

The doc series looks awesome. Watching four of the world's most famous musicians creating the songs we know and love will be a treat. (How about George Harrison not being able to figure out what lyrics should come after "Something in the way she moves…" and John Lennon telling him to sing "like cauliflower" until the right words came to him?) They were brilliant together, but it wasn't effortless. They worked hard on their craft, trying different things until they got it just right.

How fun that we get to see something new from The Beatles when we thought we'd seen it all.

Identity

Celebrate International Women's Day with these stunning photos of female leaders changing the world

The portraits, taken by acclaimed photographer Nigel Barker, are part of CARE's "She Leads the World" campaign.

Images provided by CARE

Kadiatu (left), Zainab (right)

True

Women are breaking down barriers every day. They are transforming the world into a more equitable place with every scientific discovery, athletic feat, social justice reform, artistic endeavor, leadership role, and community outreach project.

And while these breakthroughs are happening all the time, International Women’s Day (Mar 8) is when we can all take time to acknowledge the collective progress, and celebrate how “She Leads the World.

This year, CARE, a leading global humanitarian organization dedicated to empowering women and girls, is celebrating International Women’s Day through the power of portraiture. CARE partnered with high-profile photographer Nigel Barker, best known for his work on “America’s Next Top Model,” to capture breathtaking images of seven remarkable women who have prevailed over countless obstacles to become leaders within their communities.

“Mabinty, Isatu, Adama, and Kadiatu represent so many women around the world overcoming incredible obstacles to lead their communities,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA.

Barker’s bold portraits, as part of CARE’s “She Leads The World” campaign, not only elevate each woman’s story, but also shine a spotlight on how CARE programs helped them get to where they are today.

About the women:

Mabinty

international womens day, care.org

Mabinty is a businesswoman and a member of a CARE savings circle along with a group of other women. She buys and sells groundnuts, rice, and fuel. She and her husband have created such a successful enterprise that Mabinty volunteers her time as a teacher in the local school. She was the first woman to teach there, prompting a second woman to do so. Her fellow teachers and students look up to Mabinty as the leader and educator she is.

Kadiatu

international womens day, care.org

Kadiatu supports herself through a small business selling food. She also volunteers at a health clinic in the neighboring village where she is a nursing student. She tests for malaria, works with infants, and joins her fellow staff in dancing and singing with the women who visit the clinic. She aspires to become a full-time nurse so she can treat and cure people. Today, she leads by example and with ambition.

Isatu

international womens day, care.org

When Isatu was three months pregnant, her husband left her, seeking his fortune in the gold mines. Now Isatu makes her own way, buying and selling food to support her four children. It is a struggle, but Isatu is determined to be a part of her community and a provider for her kids. A single mother of four is nothing if not a leader.

Zainab

international womens day, care.org

Zainab is the Nurse in Charge at the Maternal Child Health Outpost in her community. She is the only nurse in the surrounding area, and so she is responsible for the pre-natal health of the community’s mothers-to-be and for the safe delivery of their babies. In a country with one of the world’s worst maternal death rates, Zainab has not lost a single mother. The community rallies around Zainab and the work she does. She describes the women who visit the clinic as sisters. That feeling is clearly mutual.

Adama

international womens day, care.org

Adama is something few women are - a kehkeh driver. A kehkeh is a three-wheeled motorcycle taxi, known elsewhere as a tuktuk. Working in the Kissy neighborhood of Freetown, Adama is the primary breadwinner for her family, including her son. She keeps her riders safe in other ways, too, by selling condoms. With HIV threatening to increase its spread, this is a vital service to the community.

Ya Yaebo

international womens day, care.org

“Ya” is a term of respect for older, accomplished women. Ya Yaebo has earned that title as head of her local farmers group. But there is much more than that. She started as a Village Savings and Loan Association member and began putting money into her business. There is the groundnut farm, her team buys and sells rice, and own their own oil processing machine. They even supply seeds to the Ministry of Agriculture. She has used her success to the benefit of people in need in her community and is a vocal advocate for educating girls, not having gone beyond grade seven herself.

On Monday, March 4, CARE will host an exhibition of photography in New York City featuring these portraits, kicking off the multi-day “She Leads the World Campaign.

Learn more, view the portraits, and join CARE’s International Women's Day "She Leads the World" celebration at CARE.org/sheleads.


Health

Over or under? Surprisingly, there actually is a 'correct' way to hang a toilet paper roll.

Let's settle this silly-but-surprisingly-heated debate once and for all.

Elya/Wikimedia Commons

Should you hang the toilet paper roll over or under?



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Humans have debated things large and small over the millennia, from the democracy to breastfeeding in public to how often people ought to wash their sheets.

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The "over or under" question has plagued marriages and casual acquaintances alike for over 100 years, with both sides convinced they have the soundest reasoning for putting their toilet paper loose end out or loose end under. Some people feel so strongly about right vs. wrong TP hanging that they will even flip the roll over when they go to the bathroom in the homes of strangers.

Contrary to popular belief, it's not merely an inconsequential preference. There is actually a "correct" way to hang toilet paper, according to health experts as well as the man who invented the toilet paper roll in the first place.

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